Deathly Hallows Revisited
by innerdialogue
Summary: Rewrites of some scenes in Deathly Hallows to allow a more Harmonious feel.  Mostly romantic but there may be more of a strictly friendship thing, like the first chapter, but still mostly romantic


**Chapter One: The Silver Doe**

At midnight, as the snow fell silently onto their camp, Hermione lifted the flap of the tent to find Harry asleep and covered in a slight layer of white. She clucked her tongue, smiling nonetheless and gently touched his shoulder. With a grunt of surprise, he awoke and flew to his feet, drawing out the borrowed wand from his pocket.

"Oh Harry, dear," Hermione chuckled. "If I were a Death Eater, would I _gently_ nudge your shoulder?" His stature sagged, wand hand lowering. Running a hand through his hair, he knocked more snow off in the process.

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Twelve." Reaching out gingerly, she unwrapped his fingers from her wand. "I'm here now. I'll take over."

Hermione sat down on a log, clearing a pot with a flick of her wand. With a murmur, the tip lit with a soft glow.

Harry sighed, moving to the tent. Without his wand, there nothing more he could do other than to get as much sleep as he could. He stretched his aching shoulders and loosed more snow from them. The flap from the tent blew slightly in the night's air.

"Harry?"

Hermione's voice wavered behind him. He turned, expecting to find her looking at him. She had not moved, though, still staring off into space lit by wandlight.

"Will he…will he come back?"

"I don't know, Hermione?"

She nodded and he could hear a poor attempt to sniff back tears. In two quick strides Harry returned to her side, wrapping his arms around her wrists. Hermione flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. Tears mixed with melting snow in his sweater as it became completely soaked through.

"I just can't b-believe it," she sobbed. "After all we've been through, s-seven years together! That s-stupid git just gives up when it gets tough and leaves. How could he?"

"I don't know," Harry whispered, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "But it'll be okay, Hermione. You and I will be fine."

"How, Harry? How can we make it by ourselves? Look at what happened at Godric's Hollow. Two of us just aren't enough."

"Shhhhh," rocking gently, Harry tried not to think about Voldemort or his Death Eaters or his Horcruxes. Hermione was his main concern now. She needed to be calmed. If this girl, perhaps the most stable, most sensible person he knew fell apart, Harry knew that he would not be far behind.

"It'll be okay. I don't know how, but I promise it will."

"You can't promise that," She sniffed and frowned into his chest.

Taking the wand from her, he gestured to the tent with a flick. The door flew open as a heavy quilt and tea set soared through the air to meet them in the snow. Wrapping the blanket around her body, Harry filled the teapot with water and set it to boil.

"Here, have some and then go to bed."

"I just got out here, Harry. I can't let you take two shifts."

"Then I'll just have to stay out here, too," he said and offered her a cup. She took it, sipping slowly and gave a weak smile.

The two friends sat there, sting on a snow-covered log. They didn't speak, simply taking comfort in each other. Above them, snow fell just as silently covering the world in white.

--- --- ---

Harry didn't remember falling asleep, but a limb cracked in the forest and he jerked awake. Sometime during the night he and Hermione had worked themselves under the blanket together, and she currently had wound her arms around his waist and her face under his chin. Sighing, Harry only moved enough to pull a strand of bushy brown hair from his mouth.

It was still dark, the light of morning still a few hours away. The clearing was quiet and empty, save for the pair of wizards nestled in the quilt. Hermione's wand had longed since been extinguished; the light from the moon and stars were hidden by limbs and leaves of the surrounding trees. The similarity to Apparition briefly occurred to him.

As if reacting to his thoughts, a brilliantly silver light materialized from within the tree line. It moved effortlessly through the blackened silhouettes of the tree trunks. Gliding toward him, it settled on a far snow bank. Some of its brilliant corona faded to reveal a doe composed entirely of moonlight. She turned her long head to regard him in silence.

"Hermione," he whispered into her ear. "Wake up."

The girl only murmured inaudibly and burrowed further into his chest.

"Your transfiguration homework is three days overdue."

With a yelp, Hermione leapt to her feet. She spun on the spot, apparently looking for the homework she had yet to do. Her head seemed to clear and she swatted his shoulder.

"Oh Harry, that wasn't funny in the least. I ought to— _oh_ _my_," She caught sight of the doe and took a step back. "A Patronus? Out here?"

The doe seemed to study the two for several long minutes before turning and starting once more for the trees. Harry felt an urge to go after it.

"Come on," he whispered to Hermione. "Let's follow it."

Hermione seemed to hesitate, but nevertheless she followed, clinging tightly to his hand as they passed under branches and tripping over roots. The doe danced silently ahead of them, gliding through the trees as if it were the wind. As time passed, Hermione grew unsure of the intentions of their guide.

Eventually, the Patronus came to a halt, hovering weightlessly on the surface of a frozen pond. It considered them briefly and disappeared, its light going out as if by a Deluminator.

"Why here?" Hermione asked, stepping forward and raising her wand. "_Lumos._"

Her wandlight broke through the darkness as she swept her wand in a wide arc. The trees stood solemnly around them, silent sentries in the darkness. Finally, she pointed her wand down to the lake itself, penetrating the icy surface. Far below, a glint of scarlet and silver drew their glances.

"The sword!" Harry exclaimed, falling to his knees and looking into the lake. "Hermione, it's the Sword of Gryffindor!"

"It seems so," she, too, knelt and pointed her wand at the submerged blade. "_Accio Sword!"_

"I don't believe it will be that simple, Hermione."

"Of course not."

Harry sighed, and stood, pulling the pouch Hagrid had given him for his birthday over his head. He also shed the three sweaters he had worn to keep out the cold. Pulling off his shoes and socks, he handed the bundle to Hermione.

"I'll just be a moment." He grabbed Hermione's wand and pointed it to the lake. "_Diffindo!_"

The solid surface of the water cracked with the sound of a gunshot as the Severing Charm was cast.

"Harry, there is no way am I letting you dive into a frozen lake to get a _sword_. There must be some other way!" Hermione's face was etched with both panic and anger. Harry fought the urge to mention the similarity between her and Mrs. Weasley.

"We don't have time to find another way. I'll be back."

With that he dove into the pond. The frigidity of the water hit him like a brick wall. His body screamed in pain, but he forced himself deeper through the murky waters. Though it seemed like hours, he finally felt his fingertips brush the hilt of the goblin-made sword.

Without warning, something closed tight around his neck. He first thought of a Gridylow, the nasty little water demon he had encountered three years ago in the Dark Lake during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. But as he reached for his neck, it was not the long, thin fingers of the Gridylow, but the cold, murderous grip of the Horcrux. His fingers couldn't grip the chain, as he tried to pull it from his neck. It only tightened more at his attempts. He knew why it was reacting like it was.

The sword.

Somehow, the fraction of soul Voldemort had placed into the locket sensed the sword and was trying anything it could to stop Harry from getting to the only thing that could destroy it. As his brain began to shut down from the lack of air, from both being submerged in the lake and the locket's chokehold, Harry felt his head cloud over, white lights exploding behind his eyes. He could only thrash as he felt what he was sure were the arms of Death wrap around his waist…

--- --- ---

Harry felt himself thrown onto the cold bank of the pool of water. He gagged and heaved, coughing up water. The night's cold air was already beginning to freeze the water in his hair and he shuddered in the snow.

"Harry!" Hermione was at his side in an instance, pulling his many sweaters over his head to warm him. She lifted his feet to put on his socks and shoes. "Oh Harry, that was incredibly stupid of you!"

He pulled himself to a sitting position and looked at her. She was crying as she held out the mokeskin pouch. He took it and pulled it over his neck. As a second thought, Harry felt for the Horcrux, wondering if it was still there.

"Where's the—"

"I've got it," he third voice startled Harry. He looked away from Hermione to a third figure standing above them. It was Ron, both his sweater and jacket soaked through. His red hair was plastered to his forehead. In his right hand, the sword of Gryffindor gleamed in the moonlight and in his left, Slytherin's locket hung from a now broken chain. He raised it and shook in Harry's face. "Why in the _hell_ didn't you take it off?"

"It wasn't very smart," Hermione agreed, placing a hand on his arm and helping him to stand.

"I didn't know it would react to the sword like that," Harry shrugged, reaching out for the locket. "Since when is your Patronus a doe? I thought it was a dog?"

Ron looked confused.

"It _is_ a dog, a Jack Russell. I thought it was _your_ Patronus."

Hermione huffed and turned to him. "Of course not, Ronald. Harry's is a stag."

Ron only shrugged.

"Come on Harry, let's get you back into the tent." Hermione said coldly, pulling him past Ron and through the trees. Behind them, Ron kept his distance and followed with the sword.

"Now that we have the sword, we need to destroy the Horcrux as soon as we can," Harry said once they were back in the warmth of the tenth.

As soon as they pushed past the flap, Hermione had shoved Harry into the nearest armchair and threw several blankets over him. To Ron, she threw just one, obviously still angry with him. With a harsh jab of her wand, the fireplace erupted in bluebell flames. She disappeared outside briefly and returned with the teapot she and Harry had used earlier that night.

"After we get you've recovered from you little dip, you two will go straight to bed. We will deal with the Horcrux in the morning," she softly placed a cup of tea on the end table beside Harry and all but threw one at Ron. "

--- --- ---

The three wizards stood around a large, flat rock a little ways off from where they found the sword. Harry placed the locket in the center and turned to Ron, who was holding the sword across his chest.

"Ron, I'm going to open the locket with Parseltongue and then you're going to stab it," said Harry.

Ron yelped. "Me? Why me?"

Harry sighed. "Because if there was anything Dumbledore's taught me, there are rules to this kind of magic. You got the sword; you have to be the one to destroy the Horcrux. Hermione, I want you to stay back, but still keep you're wand out, just in case. This thing will put up a fight."

He knelt by the glittering locket and picked it up, running his fingers across the emerald _S_ in its center. Beside him, Ron stepped up and raised the silver blade above his head.

"Ready? One… two… three…_open._" The locket gave a shudder and swung open. Inside, Tom Riddle's eyes looked up at them from both windows. They blinked, disoriented in the light then focused on Ron.

"_I have seen your heart, and it is mine."_

Ron seemed to waver and his arms lowered a few inches.

"_I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen your fears. All your desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible…."_

"Ron, don't listen to it, please!" Hermione yelled behind them, her wand raised, a curse or hex ready to be uttered. "Harry?"

"Ron, stab it!" But Ron didn't move, he just stood, watching the locket.

"_Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter…Least loved, now, by the girl who prefers your friend…Second best, always, eternally overshadowed…"_

The locket quivered in Harry's grip and he knew that something terrible was quickly approaching. Riddle's flashed scarlet and a strange mist began to pour from the open locket.

Two miniature forms of Harry and Hermione materialized from the mist. Their faces were wicked and terribly distorted from the real versions. They grew tall, till they towered over the trio, laughing maniacally.

"_Why return?" _The Riddle-Harry spoke, staring down at Ron. "_We were better without you, happier without you, glad of your absence_ …_we laughed at your stupidity, your cowardice, your presumption_—"

"_Presumption!" _The Riddle-Hermione cackled, bending low and showing her teeth. "_Who could look at you, who would ever look at you, beside Harry Potter? What have you ever done, compared with the Chosen One? What are you, compared with the Boy Who Lived?"_

Hermione, the real one, was crying now as she screamed for Ron to stab the locket. Harry was yelling as well.

"_Your mother confessed,"_ the Riddle-Harry continued, "_that she would have preferred me as a son, would be glad to exchange…"_

"_Who wouldn't prefer him, what woman would take you, you are nothing, nothing, nothing to him," _Riddle-Hermione crowed, and she entwined herself with Riddle-Harry, wrapping him in her arms. Their lips met.

Harry dove back from the rock as Ron bellowed and plunged the sword into the locket. The locket itself screamed in Voldemort's voice and gave a shudder. The windows gave way and broke from each other. The spectral Harry and Hermione evaporated into the air, still in the midst of their kiss.

Harry sat up and watched as Ron dropped the sword and stared at the Horcrux. Pulling himself to his feet, Harry gathered the smoking remains of the locket and the sword.

"What was that, Harry?" Hermione whispered, coming to his side.

"That was the Horcrux's way of defending itself," Harry glanced at Ron who was still looking at the rock.

"Say Ron, how did you find us anyway?"

The redhead looked up and seemed to come out of his stupor. "The Deluminator. It sort of brought me here, I guess. I dunno, something happened and I just knew where you were."

Hermione huffed and turned to him. "Well that's all well and good, but you actually expect us to just take you back in?"

"I wanted to come back as soon as I had Disapparated, but of course, you charms are spot on. But when I reappeared near Ottery St. Catchpole, I walked right into a gang of Snatchers."

"Snatchers? What are they?"

"Remember Umbridge and her Muggle-Born Registration Commission? These guys are the ones that round up the poor people accused of being muggle-born. Anyway, they snatched me, but I told them that I was Stan Shunpike. A few of them got into a fight on whether or not I was telling the truth, and I managed to punch the guy holding me and grab his wand. I stunned the one who had mine and Disapparated."

"You have an extra wand?" Harry asked. Ron nodded and pulled a short, dark wand, from his back pocket. He handed it over to Harry who ran his fingers over it. "Good, mine's broken."

"What? What happened?"

Harry retold the story of his and Hermione's visit to Godric's Hollow. Ron looked at Hermione when Harry mention that it was her Blasting Curse that snapped his phoenix wand. She merely blushed and turned away.

"Wow, Hermione, something is finally your fault."

Either Hermione really took offense to this or it was just too soon for Ron to make jokes, because Hermione lifted her wand and pointed it at his head. "_Avis!"_

There was a pop, and a flock of yellow canaries appeared. The birds twittered and flew toward Ron and he ducked and ran out of the clearing.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ------ --- --- --- --- --- ------ --- --- --- --- --- ------ --- --- --- --- --- ------ --- --- --- --- --- ------ --- --

_Thanks to those who stuck around long enough to read the entire chapter. I'm skipping chapters 20, 21, and 22. It'll pick right after they escape Lovegood's house. I realize that there wasn't much Harmony in this chapter, but there will be soon. Especially in "Malfoy's Manor." I'm not quite sure how to get Ginny out of the way, but I do know I won't kill her. I will, however, change a few deaths around. Like I said at the beginning before you started to read this, this is a rewrite of __Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows__. If you have not finished the last installment of the Harry Potter series and do not wish for key plot details to be revealed, do not read this fic until you have. _


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